On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2082 The Face Beneath the Mask

Seeing that Liu Jiulang had run away and was being followed by men in black, Zhou Lie immediately abandoned his opponent and chased after him with his sword.

Yin Ding quickly followed, and just as they entered the woods, they heard Liu Jiulang's exclamation from ahead.

The man in black was raising his knife, about to slash at him.

With a flick of his wrist, Yin Ding launched two darts. The man in black gritted his teeth and turned around. In that moment of hesitation, Zhou Lie and Wu Liang rushed over and snatched Liu Jiulang away.

Liu Jiulang, still in shock, asked, "You...you want to kill me? Who sent you?"

The man in black remained silent and had not yet answered when the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

Upon hearing the sound, the man in black's eyes darkened, and he once again swung his knife at Liu Jiulang.

Several other men in black also came to help.

Judging from this, they won't stop until they kill Liu Jiulang.

Yin Ding knew that Liu Jiulang was involved in many things that were very important to the prince and princess, and the more these men in black wanted to kill him, the more it proved this point.

Yin Ding rushed forward and engaged in a fierce battle with the man in black.

Zhou Lie was the same, while Wu Liang stayed by Liu Jiulang's side to prevent him from escaping.

The sound of horses outside stopped, and Huo Changhe's voice came: "Men, surround the woods."

The man in black looked back at the outside of the woods; his movements were already somewhat disordered.

Yin Ding smiled and said, "What? Scared? If you're scared, then surrender. It's only a matter of time anyway."

The man in black didn't say a word, gave a whistle, and turned to leave.

Silver Ingot sneered: "Trying to leave? Not so easy!"

The man in black was indeed skilled, but still not quite as good as Yin Ding. Zhou Lie was also a top expert among the secret guards, and he was not afraid of the man in black.

Yin Ding's small eyes darted around: "You go and escort Liu Jiulang out, I'll take care of things here."

Zhou Lie was taken aback, then understood what he meant and turned to exchange with Wu Liang.

At this time, the person Liu Jiulang trusted most was Zhou Lie.

Zhou Lie escorted Liu Jiulang out of the woods, where they ran into Huo Changhe and Yan Ruyu.

Liu Jiulang took a step back: "It's you!"

He instinctively ran to the other side, shouting, "Zhou Lie, let's go!"

Zhou Lie stood still, a half-smile on his face: "It's better not to leave, it's a waste of your energy."

Liu Jiulang was taken aback: "What?"

Zhou Lie's smile deepened slightly: "I said, stop running, Liu Jiulang."

Liu Jiulang stared at Zhou Lie in astonishment, his eyes wide with shock: "You... Zhou Lie, you betrayed me too?"

Zhou Lie laughed and said, "I have never been one of yours, so how can I betray you? I am only loyal to my master."

Liu Jiulang was confused: "What do you mean?"

Zhou Lie stepped forward and grabbed him. Liu Jiulang drew his soft sword from his waist and tried to fight Zhou Lie with the sword, but before the sword could touch Zhou Lie, he was knocked to the ground by Zhou Lie.

Then, they grabbed him, tied his hands, and pushed him in front of Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe.

Huo Changhe sat on his horse, looking down at him: "It was really not easy to catch you, Liu Jiulang. You have harmed Rongzhou and acted arrogantly. Today is your retribution."

Yan Ruyu raised her hand to signal, and Zhou Lie raised his hand to remove Liu Jiulang's mask.

Liu Jiulang shook his head violently from side to side: "Zhou Lie, you traitor, how dare you betray the Liu family! You will die a horrible death."

Zhou Lie scoffed, completely ignoring his insults.

He ripped off his mask.

Yan Ruyu looked at his face, her brows furrowing slightly.

It was such an ordinary face, so plain that you wouldn't even glance at it if you threw it into a crowd.

Yan Ruyu was quite surprised. Putting everything else aside, Liu Balang was quite good-looking, a handsome man. She had thought that Liu Jiulang, even if not stunning, would at least be good-looking.

Unexpectedly, it's all so ordinary.

Just then, Yin Ding and Wu Liang also came out with two men in black, whose jaws had been removed.

Yin Ding gritted his teeth: "Master, only these two survived. The others bit through the poison in their mouths and died."

Huo Changhe nodded and had Yin Ding escort them aside.

Yan Ruyu's attention remained fixed on Liu Jiulang.

Before, when there was that mask on, she had a mysterious air about her that kept strangers at bay. When she spoke, her voice came through the mask, adding another layer of inexplicable aloofness.

But now that the mask has been removed, the face revealed is quite ordinary—the eyebrows are light blue, the corners of the eyes droop slightly, the bridge of the nose is not high, and the lips are thin and somewhat bland. Put together, you could find a resemblance to anyone you randomly pick on the street.

But within this "ordinary" atmosphere, there's an indescribable awkwardness.

She subconsciously turned her head to look at the man in black behind her, then looked back at Liu Jiulang's face.

This face was hidden behind a mask for years, and even Liu Jiulang's closest servant had never seen it. But now, it didn't have the paleness of someone who hadn't seen the light for a long time. Instead, it had a healthy light red glow.

My gaze slid down to the sword on the ground; it was clearly no ordinary weapon.

Yan Ruyu had seen it once before. Liu Jiulang used his sword to fight back. The sound of the sword when it was drawn was sharper than that of an ordinary sword. The blade gleamed with a cold light. Although he was not a master, the technique he used was enough to protect himself.

She always felt something was wrong.

“Zhou Lie,” Liu Jiulang’s voice boomed, interrupting Yan Ruyu’s thoughts.

"How dare you betray your master, you traitor!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lie merely twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a very faint, cold smile.

He didn't reply immediately, but instead turned to look at Huo Changhe with a questioning look in his eyes.

Huo Changhe nodded slightly.

Only after receiving permission did Zhou Lie raise his hand.

He hooked his fingers at his chin, pinched a thin layer of something with his fingertips, and then slowly peeled it off from his cheek to his forehead.

First, his smooth forehead was revealed, its features sharper than Zhou Lie's before; then his cheeks, the skin firmer than that "Zhou Lie's face," without any sagging; finally, his chin, with its cold, hard lines and a bit of bluish stubble.

He held a human skin mask in his hand, imitating Zhou Lie's face, with some glue stuck to the edges, making it look somewhat sticky.

He then looked up at Liu Jiulang, his voice a few decibels deeper than before, carrying a long-suppressed chill: "Liu Jiulang, look carefully, I am not Zhou Lie."

When Liu Jiulang saw Zhou Lie's true face, his pupils contracted, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word, as if he was so shocked that he lost his voice.

The moment the words "not Zhou Lie" reached her ears, Yan Ruyu felt as if she had been hit on the head by something, and her vision suddenly brightened.

The doubts that had been scattered in my mind before were suddenly strung together like beads that had broken from their string.

She subconsciously took half a step forward, her eyes fixed on Liu Jiulang—a person who wears a mask all year round shouldn't have such a rosy complexion, and shouldn't even have the faint imprint of the mask; a person who uses a sword all year round shouldn't be so trembling that he can't hold the sword.

Yan Ruyu spoke, her gaze fixed on Liu Jiulang's face, not missing a single expression, "Who are you?"

Liu Jiulang's body visibly stiffened upon hearing her words.